Do you need the best equipment to make a good photograph? No. We all want the best equipment, but having the best equipment will NOT make you a better photographer.

I have liked this photo since the moment I stood there and shot it. I knew I had something special. It was taken with a camera with a good lens, not an excellent lens. Having the best equipment is great, but making good photos with what you have is more important.

On Saturday, Sept. 12, 1981, I went to Van Buren State Park in South Haven, Mich. I went there because I was looking for a place where the sun would set over the water. I wanted to go to a state park, because I wouldn’t have to get permission to shoot. I have returned to South Haven many times over the years, but this was the only time I ever saw a tide pool on the beach.

The lighting is back light, which makes the sparkle on the water. The composition is thirds, and curve. The original scene was not this dark. I printed it dark. I burned in the lower sand areas.

The color slide of this same scene almost made it in a Sierra Club calendar.

Camera- Yashica 124 Mat G

Film- Kodak Verichrome Pan ASA 125 Medium format

Lens- 80mm normal lens

Shutter Speed 1/60 or 1/125

Aperture- f 13.5 ish

Printed on Agfa Portriga Rapid paper. This was a beautiful, warm (brown) tone paper that hasn’t been manufactured in years.